You follow a low fat, high fiber diet. You have plenty of exercise and rest. However, you feel sluggish, and your doctor tells you that your cholesterol levels are too high and wants you to take medicine. .
Before you flood your body with statins, the popular drug for addiction treatment, ask your doctor to test your thyroid. office Like testing cholesterol levels, this is a simple blood test.
The thyroid is a butterfly gland located under the larynx, and is responsible for the metabolic function of the body’s largest cells.
Improper thyroid function affects your cholesterol levels. If your thyroid hormone is not enough TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) you may have hypothyroidism. Because TSH directly affects your metabolism, and a low level results in a sluggish metabolism, your body cannot sufficiently remove bad cholesterol. This results in a high level of cholesterol.
While this connection is nothing new in the medical community, doctors often treat high cholesterol without testing thyroid function. Conditions associated with thyroid dysfunction are often overshadowed, appearing as part and parcel of other factors, such as menopause or normal aging.
If the test shows a low TSH level, and you have hypothyroidism, your treatment for that condition could result in lower cholesterol. level.
But it does not happen quickly. If your thyroid can’t do it, you need a drug, levothyroxine or synthetic, as well as synthetic hormone drugs. You should take it every day, one hour before lunch. There is a strong possibility that you will need to take medication for the rest of your life.
Hypothyroidism medication is cumulative, meaning it needs to build up in your system before it fully recovers. Your cholesterol levels, therefore, are not likely to drop quickly after starting the medication. In addition, getting the right dose to support thyroid output can take a little trial and error. There are twelve different dosage levels, and finding one that meets your medical needs can take a few months.
And that dose will probably be necessary for your life. This means that your cholesterol levels may vary as you first try to find the right dose, and then your dose may need to be adjusted.
So is that high cholesterol a threat to your health if it is caused by hypothyroidism?
Yes indeed and not at all. When your LDL, or bad cholesterol, reaches 100, you should be concerned. Although thyroid medication will stabilize your metabolism, and thus lower your LDL, it does not mean that you are not at risk of heart disease from high cholesterol.
However, if your cholesterol level is higher than it should be, and lowering it with medication that supports your thyroid function, a healthy lifestyle will greatly reduce that risk. High cholesterol is not an indication of hypothyroidism. This is because high cholesterol can be a result of the condition.
The connection between thyroid function and cholesterol levels is ongoing. If your cholesterol is a result of hypothyroidism, both conditions need to be monitored on an ongoing basis.
It should be noted that thyroid medication does not treat high cholesterol. Hormone replacement therapy is necessary; stimulates the thyroid, which in turn accelerates the metabolism. If your cholesterol is high because the body cannot process it because of a slowed metabolism, treating the thyroid can allow your body to process cholesterol properly.
If your cholesterol level does not drop, it should be treated separately, perhaps with statins.
If you suspect that your efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle are being hindered by thyroid malfunction, ask your doctor to be tested for thyroid malfunction. You may find that your cholesterol level goes down after starting hypothyroidism treatment. That means taking fewer medications and feeling better.
